Lavender is one of my all-time favorite scents. I use lavender oil daily as a natural stress reliever and natural perfume. I order it from Eden's Garden as a roll-on which makes it really easy to apply, and it's already diluted!

I recently made lavender coconut milk, which is delicious on its own! But then I decided to take it a step further and create a lavender smoothie! It paired perfectly with banana and wild blueberries, though I think it would be delicious with bananas alone. However, I think the blueberries gave it the purple tint I was looking for. I hope you enjoy this rich & floral smoothie as much as I did!

I am gradually learning the potential of parsley. I used to only think of it as a garnish.. but now I've realized that it's unique flavor is AMAZING as main ingredients in juices and smoothies! If you missed it, check out my recipe for Cucumber Parsley Green Juice. This smoothie is perfectly paired with frozen mango and avocado to make it creamy and smooth- no bananas needed! Plus it is packed with spinach and chia, which gives the whole smoothie a cup and a half of greens and your whole day of omega-3s.

Smoothie tip: I like to freeze all my ingredients so that it doesn't get watered down by ice. At the beginning of each week I usually buy a big carton of spinach, and the rest that I don't finish that week I'll throw in the freezer. Or if an avocado is about to go bad, I'll just throw it in the freezer for a smoothie later. Now there's no excuse for wasted fruit because it went bad :)

This smoothie has only 200 calories with 7 grams of natural plant-based protein and 11 grams of fiber! Plus you are getting well over your full days worth of Vitamin A and Vitamin C, half of your day's calcium, and a fourth of your iron needs. Basically this smoothie is everything you've been looking for!

I try and start my mornings off with at least 2-3 servings of fruits and veggies. Usually the easiest way to do this is to throw together a big green smoothie- and recently I have been stuck on this one! It has a orang-y tropical feel packed with 2 servings of leafy greens + bonus omega-3s! Just a smoothie tip: I keep all my smoothie ingredients but citrus frozen so that I don't have to use ice- which I feel waters it down a bit.

If you're trying to change one thing about your day, consider subbing in this smoothie with a side of whole-grain oatmeal or cereal in the morning to start your day off healthy and refreshed!

Directions

Put all ingredients in blender, with unfrozen ingredients at the bottom toward the blade and heaviest frozen ingredients at the top (to force the ingredients down toward the blade)

Healthy pumpkin pie anyone?? Or wait let me rephrase this.... pumpkin pie for BREAKFAST anyone??? Seriously the answer to having your pumpkin pie and eating it too. No added sugars, no artificial ingredients, made in under 10 minutes, and SO SO DELICIOUS.

On another note- this morning when I logged into twitter I saw Kid President's tweet saying "YESVEMBER!". It got me thinking... my sophomore year of college (all my friends can attest to this) back before I was even vegetarian I was trying to make healthier choices so I decided to try out "No Cheese November" because literally guys I was a prisoner to cheesy goodness. 2 days later I folded on some Qdoba queso and No Cheese November was no more. It's funny to look back and see how much I let food just run my life. Four years later and I would have never imagined myself being in the state of health or mindset that I am today. If you're thinking about making the switch to be completely plant-based, or even just making small plant-based choices, start today!!!! Don't keep saying tomorrow. It's Yesvember for crying out loud!!! Quit telling yourself no!

(ok now back to pumpkin pie)

Ingredients

1 frozen banana, peeled

1/2 cup puréed organic pumpkin

1/4 cup unsweetened almond or soy milk

1 tbsp hemp seeds

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

or use pumpkin spice! We didn't have it at home so I just used cinnamon and nutmeg. Cardamom would have been delicious as well!